


Chasing Dreams

by iiezaya



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dimension Travel, Durarara AU, Fluff, M/M, Parallel Universes, Shizaya - Freeform, drrr au, shizaya au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2018-10-20 09:43:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10659948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iiezaya/pseuds/iiezaya
Summary: I've speculated on parallel universes. I mean, seriously, another reality co-existing with ours? Absurd.Izaya had always been a man of skepticism, but even the greatest of the great are wrong sometimes.





	1. Butterfly Effect

They say that everything in life can change fate, destiny, and even the fabric of time. A simple flap of a butterfly wing can create an entire domino effect of events.

_'Ah, how exactly did I end up in this situation?' Izaya mused as he listened to the seemingly endless rambling of Shinra. They were currently on their way to meet a boy, a legend, at that, who was one of Shinra's best friends from elementary school._

_"Hurry, or we'll miss the best part!" Shinra shouted behind him to his frowning black-haired friend. They were running towards the telltale noises of combat in one of the courtyards of Raijin Academy. Apparently the boy under speculation had inhuman strength and Shinra insisted that Izaya needed to see it for himself._

_Finally, a clearing came into view, in which a blonde-headed figure was sitting at a picnic table, smoking._

_"We missed it..." Shinra sighed dejectedly._

_"It's okay, I'm sure you guys will get along," the brunette said with a smile as they closed the distance between themselves and the blonde._

_"There'll be plenty of other opportunities to see him in action in the future anyway," the bespectacled teen muttered under his breath._

_"Hey, Shizuo!" Shinra yelled, waving his hand back and forth like an idiot._

_The other boy was frowning and seemed frustrated. He quickly butted out his cigarette and sat up a bit._

_"What do you want, Shinra?" He growled._

_The brunette gave a nervous laugh._

_"I have a friend I want you to meet!" Shinra said enthusiastically, gesturing towards the mischievous teen beside him._

_"He's a real good guy," he paused, "...actually, he's kind of an asshole, but I'm sure you'll get along fine!" he finished, smiling brightly._

_"Orihara Izaya." The raven-haired boy said, holding out his hand wearing a devious look after scrutinizing the entirety of the stranger._

_The agitated blonde glared at the extended gesture of greeting before hesitantly taking the smaller hand in his._

_"Heiwajima Shizuo." He said with a small frown._

_"I think we can have some fun together~" Izaya chirped, grinning._

_Shizuo looked very displeased with the other's response, but remained calm from a quick smoke regardless._

The delicate balance of the outcome of every event can be attributed to the merest of changes. 

For instance, if a slow teen in the hall hadn't held up Shinra and Izaya; who had also been delayed by a train of happenings such as a red traffic light, some forgotten books, and a scuffle between a bully and a teacher, Shizuo and Izaya would've spent a lifetime of loathing each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other chapters are going to be longer, sorry about this one being so short; I just thought of it like a prologue. I know that this is my first story, but I have a few more that will be coming soon. I also have a particularly good one for Izaya's birthday ;) Hope you enjoy! ^.^


	2. Days Go By

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just for a couple pointers: italics are flashbacks or things that happened in the past, texts are in brackets and bold, and the unseen party's dialogue of a phone call is just written in bold.

At first, Shizuo had been dubious and skeptical that he would get along with Izaya. His personality was flawed and the teen was involved in an unhealthy amount of shady, dangerous business. Izaya had tried testing Shizuo's strength in the beginning, bombarding him with gangs and fights until he'd decided that the blonde could be deemed a monster when the way he defeated each obstacle thrown his way was considered.

_Shizuo huffed as he sat down, fixing a solid glare on the ground._

_"What is it, Shizu-chan? Got your panties in a wad?" The blonde didn't appreciate the joke and simply scoffed and frowned at the raven-haired teen. They were sitting on the rooftop waiting for their friends, Kadota and Shinra, to join them for lunch._

_"Piss off, it's just that more gangs attacked me today for no reason and nearly got me detention." The agitated boy said._

_Izaya smirked slightly at his doings, but quickly made a sound of recognition of the other's distress to make up for the unwanted lull of silence. He had been debating whether or not to tell the blonde that his frustration and pain were a part of his schemes for the past week. Although he passed it off as amusement in the 'monster's' reactions, deep down Izaya knew he refrained from honesty so that he wouldn't lose the blossom of friendship he'd gained with Shizuo._

_"Ne... Shizu-chan?" He finally piped up after a few moments of silence._

_Shizuo questioningly hummed and looked up at the brunette._

_"Please don't get mad," Izaya said, surprising Shizuo. Although the two weren't necessarily on bad or good terms, he had never heard the younger boy say please to anyone at all._

_He nodded, trying to do his best to comfort Izaya and to salvage their fragile bond._

_"I, uh, I sent all those gangs after you. The increase in fights with you recently was because of me. I wanted to see your reaction and test your strength." He blurted all at once, avoiding the intense hazel gaze of the boy sitting across from him._

_Shizuo was silent for what seemed like eternity, eye twitching at the thought that the bout of violence he'd been forced to deal with daily was all his 'friend's' fault. It offended him even more to know that someone he'd tried to be open to had caused chaos just to "test his strength"._

_Izaya hesitantly looked up, making eye contact with Shizuo for a fleeting moment before averting his gaze._

_"Is that so?" The blonde said, seeming frustrated and angry, but most of all, hurt._

_The raven slowly nodded._

_"I'm sorry."_

_Those two words hung in the air, atmosphere heavier than lead. Everyone knew that The Great Izaya Orihara would never apologize to anyone unless he truly felt guilty and remorseful. Shizuo was at a loss for words for a decent amount of time before sighing out his frustrations._

_"I forgive you," he said, pulling Izaya into a friendly, welcoming embrace. It was now the younger male's turn to struggle to find words as his eyes and cheeks suddenly seemed too hot._

_"Oi, what the hell is going on up here?" A gruff voice, Kadota, asked, accompanied by Shinra._

_Both boys quickly pulled away and composed themselves, grinning at their friends. Shinra wore a devious smile and Kadota seemed confused while they ate, but nonetheless, they all dropped the matter within minutes._

Yes, sometimes Izaya's personality and deceitful actions angered Shizuo, but he couldn't bring himself to hate him. Over time, they learned to tolerate each other and truly became good friends. 

_"I hate you."_

_"You know you love me, Shizu-chan~" Izaya sang as he watched the disgruntled expression on the blonde's face as he stared at the poorly wrapped box. Izaya convinced Shizuo to ditch class, claiming that Shinra was in trouble, just to drag him onto the rooftop and give him a small box with neat gold wrapping. It was January 28th, Shizuo's birthday, but he hadn't expected to receive a gift from his raven-haired friend. They had been friends for the duration of high school and were approaching graduation, but Shizuo was never demanding of presents and wasn't aware that the younger boy even knew the date of his birthday. He supposed it could be expected, considering the fact that Izaya seemed to know everything._

_Shizuo peeled back the thin paper to reveal a small jewelry box. He grew curious and shot Izaya a questioning, wary glance._

_Izaya practically bounced up and down in anticipation and excitement for the revelation of the blonde's gift. He had never been a sentimental person, but he knew that Shizuo cared a lot for the people he was close with and would be overjoyed with anything handmade that came from his friends._

_As the box was opened, Shizuo pulled out a small, metallic bracelet. It was strange; it had a pink-ish tint to it and seemed fragile enough to be homemade. He tilted his head and read a neat-lettered engraving on the inside curve of the jewelry._

_'Shizuo and Izaya ~ Best Friends Forever <3' It read._

_A fond smile crossed Shizuo's lips as he lightly chuckled. He was seventeen years old and was pleased with the gift of a pink bracelet from his best friend. He looked up at Izaya who had a nervous smirk and bandaged (from making the bracelet) hands hidden behind his back._

_"A friendship bracelet?" Shizuo asked, still grinning with raised eyebrows and a slightly tilted head. Izaya nodded._

_The blonde quickly wiped at his eyes that had welled up with tears._

_Izaya had a knowing smile; he had been correct in assuming that although Shizuo had a tough front, he was truly kind and tender in his heart._

_With a split-second thought, Izaya dauntingly kissed the taller boy on the cheek._

_He laughed as pure shock dominated his friend's face and one of their typical 'friendly chases' ensued._

That incident certainly wasn't the only time the two had shared a true gentle moment together. 

_"Quickly, this way, Shizu-chan," a young voice said._

_The mentioned teen was having trouble keeping up with his friend. They developed a newfound friendship that had lasted for about three weeks so far. Izaya was the happiest he had ever been; Shizuo was now the only person in his life that seemed to truly enjoy his company rather than just tolerate him, aside from Shinra, maybe. The brunette loved spending time with a human so interesting, and while his strength was monstrous, Izaya was aware that the proclaimed "beast" was a much better person than himself._

_Two silhouettes raced through the night to a small park._

_The shorter of the two teens rapidly climbed the branches of a tree once the duo reached their destination. His friend followed, although considerably less agilely. For months, word had been going around about a rare moon appearance, but Shizuo wasn't particularly interested in astronomy._

_From the highest branch of the tree, everything seemed so different. The ground was so far and it seemed like you could reach up and touch the night sky._

_Izaya was lightly humming as they waited patiently for the predicted time for the eclipse to appear. There were only a few more minutes until they would gaze upon an uncommon occurrence in nature, and that excited Izaya greatly._

_The brunette turned to look at his blonde friend. He grinned at the sight of Shizuo staring at the stars with a gentle, adoring look._

_Although it was cheesy, Izaya now knew that you shouldn't judge a person based on rumors or how they seem._

_"It's neat, isn't it?" The younger of the two asked._

_"Yeah," the other replied breathlessly._

In that moment, much to his dismay, Izaya wanted to claim the other's lips. This time, he couldn't convince himself that it was purely curiosity. 

Two weeks later, Izaya's wish was granted.

_"Truth or dare, Shizuo?" a talkative teenager with glasses asked the age-old question to his strong friend. They were sitting in a circle— a square, rather, playing an extremely classic game among people their age._

_"Dare, I guess."_

_Shizuo was typically one to stick to the choice of truth because, first, he was a very honest person, and second, Shinra and Izaya tended to cross some lines when composing dares for their friends._

_"I dare you to... kiss Izaya-kun!" Shinra forced out between devious giggles._

_Everyone in the room deadpanned as Izaya and Shizuo immediately blushed._

_"Ah..." Shizuo began awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head._

_"What, Shizu-chan? Scared?" Izaya taunted mischievously._

_"Of course not!"_

_"Then do it." Shinra said._

_The blonde growled, hesitantly leaning towards his friend._

_"Film this and you die." Shizuo said before Shinra could pull out his phone to document and post the upcoming scene on the internet._

_As they got closer, Izaya felt his heart rate increasing to a speed faster than light. Pure sparks of passionate electricity coursed through his veins. As their lips touched, as short as it may have been, everything in that moment was gone except for warmth; nearly unbearable **warmth**. _

_Izaya, who was one to use logic more often, got the inkling that he may love Shizuo. He didn't want to admit it to himself, nor to ruin the only friendship he had. He thought about it for months and months, and finally gained the will to tell Shizuo his findings._

_“Spit it out.” Shizuo said bluntly, acknowledging the fact that Izaya invites him over some time in mid-summer of their third year of high school, but then sat there babbling and yapping (more than usual)._

_Izaya sighed and stared at no book in particular on his shelf._

_“I…”_

_“I like you, Shizuo,” he said, using the blonde’s full name to convey seriousness._

_Shizuo couldn't stop the hearty laugh that escaped._

_“Well, yeah. We’re friends, after all. Isn't it obvious that you'd like me?” He asked._

_Izaya frowned._

_“You truly are such a simpleton.” He glowered._

_“I mean… that… I—”_

_“ **Oh.** ” Shizuo remarked, realizing the intentions of Izaya’s stammering._

_“I love you too, Izaya.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter complete! 」(￣▽￣」) At least this one is longer :)
> 
> I don't know how often I'll update, but do you guys think that I should do another chapter of this one next or start a new one? Thanks you to everyone commenting, reading, and giving kudos. There were more people than I thought (☆▽☆) 
> 
> I would also love feedback about how I'm doing in details, descriptions, staying in character (it is AU, but there will be... a more familiar shizaya very soon.), etc. and let me know about any errors ^.^


	3. The Machine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check Chapter 2 notes for some general pointers.

**_Location: A much more familiar Ikebukuro_ **

**“And why exactly do I need to come over?”** A snide voice said through Shinra’s phone.

“I told you; because I need someone to test a new experiment on.~”

  **“Can't you get someone else to do it? I have work to do.”** Izaya asked, obviously irritated.

 “No, I've decided that you are simply the best one to test it on,” with this statement, Shinra could practically  _feel_ Izaya’s frown on the other end of the device.

 “See you in ten minutes!” Shinra dismissed, hanging up the call. The cards were placed on the table and Shinra was all-in. Shizuo would be over in about five minutes, if not less, because he told him that Celty wanted him to come over for dinner. For the record, she was making dinner for them, however, his true motives were to test a machine of his. Why invite _Shizuo and Izaya_ , the two adversaries that will be at each other’s throat before they reach his doorstep?

 Well, Shinra hypothesized that his machine would take an extreme amount of not only electricity, but man-power too. Who could truly be better to run such a machine than two of the most dangerous men in Ikebukuro that were also conveniently his friends?

 “Oh, Celty~ Could you please prepare three cups of tea?”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “Hello, Shizuo. Please be seated,” Shinra said, gesturing to a chair placed in a white lab-like room with a metal arch in the center. It had a large prong at the top with some sort of translucent ball at the end. It sat a few inches from the wall, which through the arch, looked almost fuzzy. It looked like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.

 Shizuo huffed but complied anyway.

 “What the fuck is that?” He asked not even a second after sitting down.

 Shinra chuckled. “Ah, always straight to the point. I'll tell you once our other _guest_ arrives.”

 “Huh? You didn't tell me anyone else was coming.” Shizuo’s eyebrows furrowed.

 “Oh, don't worry. It's no one important.”

 Shinra set down a mug on a table for the blonde and then walked to the back of the lab, Shizuo’s gaze focused somewhere else.

 With nothing better to do, Shizuo raised the tea to his lips and took a sip. He realized that it had a strange tang to it.

 “Who the hell made this?” He turned to Shinra. He was standing with his back to Shizuo, fiddling with some kind of rope.

 “My darling Celty… although, I added a bit of something of my own,” the bespectacled man said, turning around with the rope in his arms. Shizuo went to stand up, befuddled as to what he was on about, but realized that his legs refused to move. Shinra quickly approached him and tied a rope around his torso, successfully attaching him to the chair.

 “Sorry Shizuo, I need to take the proper measures to keep my other guest intact.”

 "You're a crazy bastard, Shinra.”

 Shinra smiled as someone knocked on the door behind him.

 “Perfect!~” he sang, walking to the door. When it was opened, Izaya could be seen standing in the doorway. It suddenly made sense to Shizuo why he was tied up, but that didn't stop him from struggling to escape the rope. It seemed that Shinra had drugged his tea. Damn crazy scientist.

 “How'd you manage to do that?” Izaya asked, completely amused.

 “Just a bit of a modified version of Suxamethonium chloride.”

 Izaya nodded and took a few steps towards Shizuo. He smirked and stuck his tongue out, standing less than a foot away.

 “Is this your experiment?” He asked, approaching the arch in the room.

 “Yes. You see, I was trying to create—”

 A loud crash filled the room as it seemed that Shizuo had managed to get free from his chair. He hurdled a small metal table at Izaya’s head, which, of course, missed. Izaya slid gracefully across the glossy floor, as if he was ice-skating. The table slammed into the portal-looking machine, disrupting the surface of the blurred archway.

 Shizuo came charging seconds later, engaging in a fruitless chase for at least forty seconds. Medical tools and strange objects were flung about and the sharp tip of Izaya’s blade made contact with skin a few times. Standing in front of the portal-thing, Izaya intended to send the raging blonde into the wall behind him, but wasn't expecting him to throw himself at him from a good seven feet away.

 Izaya made a split-second decision to duck instead of jumping to the side, overestimating the height of Shizuo’s blind leap. The tackle was forceful enough to send them both straight back into the spot where the wall should be, but instead where the entrance to the arch was.

 “Wait!—” Shinra called out as the pair disappeared into the portal. His arm remained extended as he stared at the now solid wall in front of him. Shizuo and Izaya were simply _gone_.

 Shinra rubbed at his temples. ‘ _Oh man, this one will be tough to fix._ ’

 The door behind him opened as Celty stepped in.

  **[Where did Shizuo go?]** She showed her PDA.

 Shinra sweated nervously. “Well… eh, you see…”

 Celty didn't need a head to convey her annoyance.

 "I tried to tell him and Izaya to stop but, uh, they fell into there,” he said, pointing at the portal.

  **[** **Izaya was here too?!]**

 Shinra simply nodded. “Yes, but that isn't important right now. I don't know exactly what this machine does. I wanted them both to come over so that I could use Shizuo’s strength and Izaya’s mind simultaneously to power it and run tests on it. I haven't been able to run any trials, but I'm pretty sure that it wasn't meant to sustain human transport… the whole thing burned out and I don't know where they went.”

 With the proper parts, Celty would've frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. Instead, she face palmed her helmet.

  **[Well how do we fix it?]**

 Shinra laughed nervously.

 “I don't really know…” He rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.

  **[You’re an idiot.]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY I FINALLY FINISHED ANOTHER CHAPTER~ 
> 
> This one was?? okay I guess ;)
> 
> If you guys didn't understand, this isn't the same Shizuo and Izaya as the beginning, it's the canon version.
> 
> I realized that rich text is 11x easier than HTML lmao why didn't I notice this
> 
> Anyway, please tell me about any errors! I'm v excited for next chapter.


	4. A Fateful Meeting

Shizuo and Izaya fell from the sky onto a small hill where they tumbled until an abrupt collision with a tree. They both laid on the ground, momentarily dazed. Only taking moments to regain orientation, it became apparent to Izaya that they were in a familiar park of Ikebukuro. 

_ It must’ve been a teleporter or something... _

Wasting no time, Izaya sat up to scrutinize the area. After finding a suitable route, he began to run again, hopping stumps and benches in his path. Shizuo clumsily threw himself off the ground. He, on the other hand, practically pulverized everything that stood in his way as yet another chase began. 

The deeper into the city they went, the more looks they got, and the more something about the city seemed… off. There was no property damage left in the wake of some of Shizuo and Izaya’s previous infamous encounters, and there was  _ no way _ the city had already repaired all of them. The more Izaya thought about it, he also realized that it had only been about 6:30 pm back at Shinra’s but now evidence showed that it was already nearing 10:00 pm and he was certain they had not ran for that long.

As the streets got darker and darker, Izaya became harder to track as he darted into alleyways and backstreets. Shizuo eventually lost track of him when he ran into large crowd in a particularly busy part of Ikebukuro. Shizuo searched the sea of people for a signature coat or any other sign of Izaya, but gave up after what seemed like hours. He looked around and, luckily, he was familiar with this street and its shortcuts to avoid the traffic. Turning on his heel, Shizuo started making his way back to his apartment.

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

 

Izaya was not happy. He took a wrong turn and was presently struggling to make his way back to Shinjuku, where he still had work to complete. 

_ At least I lost that protozoic idiot.  _ He thought to himself as he stared at the ground.

As if on cue, Izaya found himself slamming into someone akin to a brick wall. Not just any brick wall,  _ Shizuo, _ he realized. Before any attempt to escape could be made, Izaya was pinned against a nearby building with his wrists above his head. Shizuo’s hand raised, seemingly in slow motion, and Izaya braced for a nasty punch, closing his eyes. In the next moment, he found himself bordering cardiac arrest when the large hand settled on his cheek and slightly chapped lips connected with his. His eyes shot open and he froze in place, unsure of what was even reality anymore.

Completely appalled, Izaya wasn’t unable to vocalize any death threats when they finally separated. 

“Why didn't you meet me at the café? Did you forget where it was?” He asked playfully, hand still resting on Izaya’s cheek. 

“I-Wh- Have you lost your goddamn mind?!” Shizuo— or whoever the hell this imposter was— had a very confused look on his face. Izaya made a mental note that he was wearing a casual button-up and slacks instead of his usual attire and was beyond perplexed. 

Mocha eyes stared into Izaya’s soul as a look of concern came over his features, twisting up his eyebrows. He gently slid his hand down from the raven’s cheek and grasped his hand with it instead. 

“What do you mean, Izaya?” 

Izaya noted the lack of honorific and quickly yanked his hand away. 

“What do  _ I _ mean? You were chasing me in an attempt of murder twenty minutes ago!” Shizuo childishly tilted his head.

“Why would I do that? Is this a joke? If it is, I don't understand why it's funny.” He said, rubbing one temple.

“No, of course it's not, you moron, we hate each other. Did Shizu-chan hit his head too hard or something?” 

“Why would we hate each other, Izaya? We’re dating.” Shizuo said, not an ounce of falsity in his eyes and tone. 

Izaya blinked several times. 

“We’re what—?” 

“ _ Dating _ , silly.” 

Izaya blinked again before bursting out in hysterical, nearly maniacal, laughter. 

“Hooooo, you really got me on that one, Shizu-chan. Good thing I'm not a simpleton fool like you.” He finally managed once he stopped giggling like a lunatic, theatrically wiping a tear from his eye. 

“Okay, Izaya, your joke isn't funny.” Shizuo deadpanned, seeming slightly agitated. 

“My joke? We’ve loathed each other since  _ high school _ and we always will. Does Shizu-chan have a crush on me or something all along?~” 

“Loathed?— I’m sorry, I don't understand. Regardless, I'm still pissed that you stood me up for dinner tonight.”

“How far are you going to take this, amoeba?” 

Shizuo’s eyebrow twitched. “What the fuck is wrong with you right now, Izaya?” 

“You're the one acting crazy. You kissed me, you idiot!” 

“Isn't it obvious that people kiss when they're dating? Tell me, why weren't you at dinner? I waited forever!” 

"We never even had plans!” Izaya said exasperatedly, feeling a headache coming on. 

_ What is going on? Is this even Shizuo?  _

“Whatever. If you want to stop dating you could've just told me. I'm going home, so talk to me when you stop being an asshole.” Shizuo said, storming off.

_ Dating? Those clothes? Something is seriously wrong here, and I think it's more than Shizuo’s idiocy… _

 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

 

_ Only a couple more blocks… _

Shizuo thought as he walked home. He was anticipating watching TV and having a huge glass of milk to calm down from their chase. As he rounded a corner, two cold hands slipped over his eyes from behind.

“Guess who~” The person said. Immediately, Shizuo recognized the voice as the flea’s. He whipped around, gripping both of the other’s wrists in a tight grasp and slammed the small man into a brick wall, switching his hold to elevate him by his throat.

“What the fuck were you thinking, flea, hah?” Shizuo glared daggers at Izaya who was squirming. Briefly, Shizuo noticed that he was wearing different clothes; nice ones, an outfit that would typically be worn to an outing. 

“You thought you could just change clothes and fool me? I'm not stupid, you bastard!” 

“Shizzy, stop—” Izaya said, desperately clawing at Shizuo’s hands around his neck. 

_ Haven't heard that one before…  _

“My name is Shizuo Heiwajima, flea, how many times must I tell you?!” Shizuo growled, pulling Izaya away from the wall, only to slam him into it again, this time harder.

His face scrunched up and Shizuo dropped him upon seeing his new expression. Large tears rolled down Izaya’s cheeks as he fell to the ground, rubbing his neck and staring at the pavement. His shoulders shook with laughter—  _ no, tears, _ Shizuo realized.

In between chokes, Izaya managed to speak.

“Are you that m-mad about the date? I can explain!” He all but wailed. 

_ DATE?! _

“What the fuck did you just say?” Shizuo said, grabbing Izaya’s collar and pulling it up to face him. 

Izaya’s tears came faster now and he struggled considerably to speak. 

“O-Our date— at th-the café—” he croaked out. He brought his hands up to cover his eyes as his shaking increased and sobs wracked his body. 

“Cut out the jokes! What are you doing back in Ikebukuro?!” Shizuo shouted, slightly quieter this time to avoid the gaze of more passersby, and also to allow Izaya to stop crying hysterically. As much as he’s wanted to see the asshole cry, the scene was a bit…unsettling to watch.  

“I-I’m sorry about not being at the café, I got h-held up at the market.” Izaya said, avoiding eye contact. His tears were starting to recede, at least. 

“Have you finally lost what’s left of your sanity?! What the hell are you talking about? And quit the crying, it's annoying, ya big baby.”

Izaya sniffled and stood from his fetal position.

“Listen, Shizu-chan, I was  _ -sniff- _ buying milk and cake for later at the store and there was a huge line so I was running late for our date! I was going to  _ -hic-  _ call but my phone was dead, I swear!” He said, raising his head and seeming more confident.

“Date—? Is this another one of your schemes?” Shizuo asked, narrowing his eyes and clenching his fists. Izaya stepped backwards slightly and held his hands up. 

“Why would I scheme against you? We’re da—”

“Izaya?” A strangely familiar voice called out from behind Shizuo. 

_ Is that—? _

“So you changed clothes and now you're with this fucker, huh?” The stranger yelled, spinning Shizuo around on with a hand maneuvering his shoulder. 

“Wh—”

“You’re—”

Both blondes stood in shock, looking at the other person as if they were a mirror.

“Who are you?” Shizuo, the one dressed in the bartender outfit, asked. 

“Shizuo Heiwajima.” The other man said skeptically, narrowing his eyes.

“No, I'm Shizuo Heiwajima.” 

_ What the fuck is going on? Is this guy some imposter or something? _

“Izaya, what are you doing with this- this- guy?” The newcomer demanded angrily.

Izaya’s gaze kept darting back and forth between the two Shizuos, conflict and confusion evident in his gaze.

Izaya opened his mouth to speak before promptly fainting.

“ _ Shit.”  _ The remaining two figures said in unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to update! I want to make the rest of the chapters a bit longer so it took me a while to get around to. I'm also sorry if they seemed a bit OOC (although, the AU Shizuo and Izaya are supposed to, for obvious reasons).
> 
> Do you guys think I should finish this before starting another story? idk
> 
> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed c;
> 
> Let me know if you see any errors e.e


	5. Russia Sushi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, I know how stupidly late this is. I cannot believe that I haven't updated!! since!!! junE!! 
> 
> My sincerest apologies to anyone and everyone who was waiting for this story. I had some major writer's block for a long time and I just put it to the back of my mind after school started back up. I finally have some ideas, and hopefully some motivation, so I will try to stay on top of this story.
> 
> I have a few other pieces that I have been working on that could possibly go up some time soon when I finish them, but those will most likely be single-chapter. As for my Halloween story as well, I clearly didn't finish on time and if you guys want I can finish it and put it up extremely late lmao. 
> 
> Thank you so much for being patient with me and I hope you enjoy xoxo <3

Izaya was beyond confused. He always abhorred the fact that Shizuo always had a new way to be unpredictable, but this was  **too far** . 

 

_ What was he even thinking? Why would we  _ **_ever_ ** _ be dating? And what was with that outfit? I thought all he owned was bartender attire.  _

 

His head was spinning from trying to comprehend what went through Shizuo’s mind. There was no logical explanation for Shizuo’s actions, and, once again, he was left to his own devices to try and find any bit of predictability in the madness that was Shizuo Heiwajima.

 

_ Maybe that wasn’t even Shizuo? I mean, it’s damn near impossible because the voice and face were just too similar.  _

 

_ Perhaps I am actually going crazy. _

 

A low chuckle rose from Izaya’s throat, which soon turned into louder giggles that would certainly make him seem like a maniac. Luckily for him, it was late at night, so the police would not be called by a surprised viewer. With a crack of lightning and a loud boom of thunder, things took a turn for the worse as it started raining. It was almost cliché, the way his already boggled thoughts were further unbalanced by the cold taps of rain on his back.

 

Finally standing in front of the door to his apartment, Izaya realized that something was different. Very different.

 

_ There’s five damn locks on this door!  _

 

Access to Izaya’s apartment was supposed to be gained with a code and a key, but now the door was secured with all kinds of security, as well as a different paint job.

 

_ What the hell?  _

 

A few unsuccessful tries of his key later, Izaya found himself on the front steps to the building, slightly shivering. With everything that had happened that night, he strongly looked forward to taking a hot shower and then going to sleep, but was instead greeted by more confusion and no where to stay. 

 

_ This night just can’t get worse, can it? _

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“I’ll carry him and you— come with me so we can figure out what the fuck is happening, got it?” Shizuo demanded, looking at the strange bartender getup worn by his look-alike. He nodded and they both proceeded down the street.

 

“So what’s with the bartender outfit, you work at a pub or somethin’?”

 

Shizuo frowned. “Not anymore.” 

 

The strikingly similar man didn't pry and instead shifted his Izaya’s weight in his arms. Soft raindrops began to fall from the pitch-black sky, so everyone began to speed up in their steps. Finally, the trio arrived at their destination: Russia Sushi. 

 

“Why are we here?” Shizuo asked, remembering the unconscious Izaya in the other’s grip. 

 

“Ah, well, I was hungry and I figured that he’d wake up at the smell of fatty tuna.” He said, gesturing his head towards the man in his hold. He seemed slightly upset that the other didn't laugh at his attempt of a joke. He cleared his throat. 

 

“I also figured a private room would be a good place to discuss.”

 

“Shi-zu-o~” A booming voice called from the sidewalk. 

 

“Ah? And— Shi-zu-o?” The large Russian man asked, tilting his head only slightly but otherwise seeming unfazed that there were two of the same man standing side by side. Both men bowed.

 

“You come to eat sushi?” He asked with a large toothy grin plastered on his face, his expression not being altered much more than that. They both nodded and soon were seated in their own private room, Izaya splayed on the mat next to Shizuo, both of them across from Shizuo who was taking off his sunglasses and loosening his collar.

 

Before there was even thought of ordering, an accusation was thrown from the Shizuo seated beside Izaya.

 

“So what are you doing walking around and impersonating me?” 

 

“Tch, impersonating you? _I’m_ Shizuo Heiwajima, I’m pretty sure you're impersonating me, and what's up with you and the flea?”

 

“We’re dating.” He said with a twitching eyebrow. “And I ask that you refrain from calling him ‘flea’.”

 

_ Ugh, he talks just like Izaya too.  _

 

At this point, Simon left the room, opting to pick their orders for them.

 

“Alright, “Shizuo”, how do we settle this bullshit once and for all?”

 

“I suppose we could speak with an outside source about who is the REAL Shizuo, like those sci-fi movies or whatever.”

 

“And who would be close enough to know the true Shizuo?” 

 

After a pensive moment, they spoke in unison. 

 

“Shinra.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


_ First I got chased around by that beast, then he speaks absolute nonsense, and now I can’t even get into my own home!  _

 

Izaya thought to himself, throwing the biggest pity-party of all time for himself. He walked down the damp streets with thoroughly soaked clothes, a certainly ugly scowl etched into his features and a pisspoor mood set deep in his mind. 

 

_ I suppose I’ll just wander the streets observing my interesting nightcrawler humans until I can get back in my apartment. Perhaps I could just get a hotel, or-  _

 

Simultaneously, he had the idea to grab a bite to eat, as he was hungry, and to just call Namie and bitch at her about the locks on his door. Before dialing her number, he made sure it was some absurd hour to make her even more mad. 

 

- _ Ring- _

 

_ -The number you dialed is currently unavailable-  _

 

Izaya didn’t bother letting the message continue, realizing that her phone is either off or his is out of service. His bout of happiness being suddenly dampened by the inability to complain to his  _ lovely _ secratary, he decided to take the train to Ikebukuro for some ootoro. 

 

_ Ah, yes, some fatty tuna will surely cheer me up.  _

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Hello, Izaya,” Simon greeted from the door of Russia Sushi. Izaya have a brief wave. Simon took it upon himself to lead him towards the private rooms.

 

“Oi, Simon, I don't need a...” Izaya trailed off as he laid his eyes upon the scene before him. Shizuo, with his usual bartender attire, and  _ another  _ Shizuo wearing the same outfit as the one he had spoken with earlier were sitting across from each other, casually eating sushi. His jaw dropped to the floor and everyone merely stared at each other until Simon announced that he would bring Izaya some ootoro. Izaya numbly gave a nod and cleared his throat.

 

“What the hell?” He asked the two men– three, He now noticed, if you count the unconscious Izaya laying on the floor.

 

“Take a seat,” the strangely dressed Shizuo said, gesturing to the spot across from him.

 

“And risk being killed? I'll stand, thanks.” Izaya said with crossed arms. 

 

“Suit yourself…” he muttered angrily. 

 

“So the plan was to visit Shinra so that we can find out who the real Shizuo is, and I guess the real Izaya as well now,” the Shizuo who had not yet spoken yet said. 

 

“Yeah? Great idea considered it was thought of by a couple of Neanderthals.” 

 

Upon saying this, Izaya received two equally venomous glares from across the room. He sighed and pressed his thumb and index finger into the bridge of his nose.

 

“Fine, I'll go with you but purely because I'm sick of being  **_kissed_ ** by monsters on the street.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_ Knock, knock, knock _

 

_ “Oi, Shinra, open up,” Shinra heard from the other side of his flat. He paused the movie he and Celty were watching and sighed as he stood up.  _

 

_ “Coming~”  _

 

_ The door swung open and Shinra, running on only a few hours of sleep, rubbed at his eyes a few times when he saw what was at his door. Shizuo had Izaya flung over his shoulder, ANOTHER Shizuo and Izaya were standing next to him, and they all looked at him like  _ **_he_ ** _ was the weird one.  _

 

_ “!”  _

 

_ Shinra wordlessly fell to the ground having fainted.  _

 

**_“Not again…”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, that last part in italics is just a little extra thing I wasn't sure if I wanted to include. Sorry if the chapter seemed a bit choppy. Let me know what you think in the comments~ Thanks for reading!


	6. Unnatural Selection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They'll laugh as they watch us fall,  
> The lucky don't care at all,  
> No chance for fate,  
> It's unnatural selection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't come up with a name for this chapter, so I decided that I'd name it after a Muse song since I listened to a few of their songs on repeat for the couple days I was writing this.

Shinra strode back and forth, likely wearing a hole in his floor. Ever since Shizuo and Izaya had fallen through his portal, he was racking his brain for any kind of solution. He had managed to repair the arch and all the essential parts on his machine, but couldn’t figure out anything further. For all he knew, he would never see his friends again.

 

_ I should have known nothing would ever go to plan with those two! Shizuo was supposed to hold open the portal while Izaya just took a mere peek! But look where we are now! If they ever return, I swear, my precious Celty will cook them up for dinner... _

 

**[Shinra, get that creepy look off your face. They’ll come back, I promise.]**

 

Celty showed him her screen, hoping he might calm down a bit. Every thought he had lead to a dead end, and, at this rate, he’d be driven mad. 

 

“Oh, Celty~ How can you be sure that they’ll be back? All this dumb machine can do is run and only in small intervals. They could be anywhere in space and time right now,” he said, flopping dramatically onto their couch. 

 

**[Well moping around definitely isn’t doing anything.]**

 

If she had a head, it is likely that it would be displaying a disappointed frown. 

 

He sighed. “Why do you always have to be right, Celty~?” Shinra said, closing his eyes.

 

_ Come on, think, Shinra! Isn’t there any way to contact them or to bring them back? If only the portal could stay open long enough for me to go in and find them… _

 

“That’s it, Celty!” He yelled, jumping up.

 

**[What is? What’s** **_it_ ** **?]**

 

“I only need to reopen the portal to be stable enough for me to go in and find them, or for us to wait for them here while it remains open until they return. Before I can do any of it, though, I’d need you to run an errand and get something for me.” 

 

**[Alright, what do you need me to do?]**

 

“Heh heh, well, if my theory is correct, we’d need enough energy both from an external source and an internal one. By that, I mean that I’d need to hook the machine up to a cell tower and use all of its available currents for a few seconds, which would likely shut down power in large portions of the city for a brief amount of time. It would provide enough power to keep the portal open, but it is highly likely that it would open anywhere along the power lines, and who knows where on the other end. It would also drastically increase the chance of tearing a hole in the fabric of space and time if it were to run on city power and the nuclear reactors inside alone. In order to stabilize it, concentrate all of the rapid bursts of energy, and keep the location of the portal closer to where the machine itself is, I would also need an extremely illegal power source to put in the interior of the machine. Luckily, I know exactly where we could find one.” 

 

**[Where?]**

 

Shinra cringed. 

 

“My dad.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

**_Location: An Ikebukuro Apartment on the Verge of Chaos_ **

 

“Okay, okay, okay, back up. So, you and Izaya were planning to go on a date tonight, but he was late. That’s when this guy showed up, claiming that you hate each other and and we’re never dating in the first place. As your carbon-copy here says, he was somehow talking to Izaya at the same time, and then he passed out. One way or another, you all went to Russia Sushi and decided that coming here was your best course of action?”

 

All affiliated members nodded. 

 

“Alright, there are only two options here. Option one: I am going insane. Option two:—”

 

Shinra began walking into another room, and everyone else walked with him (well, rather, some were  _ carried). _

 

“This!” He pulled a cloak off of a strange machine. Shizuo and Izaya immediately recognized it as the one they had fallen through at Shinra’s—well, some version of Shinra’s, apartment. 

 

“I’ve been working on interdimensional transport for a couple months now, and I believe I may have an explanation for what is going on: those two-”

 

He pointed at Shizuo and Izaya.

 

“-came from a dimension where another version of me was working on the same thing.” 

 

He sighed as he received perplexed looks from the conscious versions of his friends.

 

“Basically, our timeline coexists with theirs, and in theirs, erm, you guys’, it seems that you two- or, uh, they- hate each other. In my dimension, er, ours, I mean,  _ this one,  _ you two are the “real” Shizuo and Izaya and, god, I’m sick of addressing you all like this. Alright. You two will be Izaya and Shizu-chan,” he stated, pointing at the Izaya and Shizuo he was less familiar with. 

 

“And you and your half-comatose boyfriend will be Shizuo and Iza-chan, okay?” 

 

No response was given.

 

“Okay, perfect! Anyway, I suppose that the other me must have had more luck creating this thing, considering that half of the parts got lost in transit here.” He continued. “If you two hate each other, how did I, I mean,  _ he,  _ get you to go through the portal?"

 

“Well, uhm, actually, we sorta fell through.” Shizu-chan said. 

 

“Fell? How so?”

 

Izaya grinned sinisterly. 

 

“That beast over there attacked me like a madman! We accidentally tumbled through, all thanks to him.”

 

“All thanks to me? Not my fault you’re a stupid flea bastard!” Shizu-chan grabbed a stool from the corner of the room. 

 

“Now!— Wait just a minute!” Shinra yelled, futilely attempting to quell the oncoming fight. 

 

The stool flew across the room faster than Shinra could blink, but Izaya had already all but teleported somewhere that wasn’t the trajectory of the projectile. 

 

“Knock it off, you two!” Shizuo yelled. 

 

The shout fell on deaf ears as Shizu-chan proceeded throwing various items from the room and Izaya continuously dodged. 

 

“Ah,  _ fuck _ ,  _ my head _ .” A voice whispered. It seemed that Iza-chan had awoken from his insanity-induced slumber. There was a momentary lull in the utter destruction taking place ten feet away.

 

“Ah, you’re awake?” Shizuo asked. It was more of a statement than a question. 

 

“Yeah, where are we?” Iza-chan questioned as he realized that he was hanging over his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

 

“Shinra’s,” he replied, placing a chaste kiss on Iza-chan’s sideways lips. 

 

Equally horrified expressions met them from across the room. Shizu-chan was still holding a table in his grip, and Izaya was perched on the arm of a couch. 

 

“Oh,  _ now _ he wakes up,” Shinra sarcastically commented. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

**_Location: ???_ **

 

_ “Yeah, boss, we spotted them heading towards that freak underground doctor’s apartment two hours ago.”  _

 

_ “And are the lookouts still there?”  _

 

_ "Yes sir. We also have a couple guys around the city in case they went through a back exit.”  _

 

_ “Excellent. What the hell would those two being going to the same place for anyway?”  _

 

_ “No idea, sir.”  _

 

_ “Hm. Alright. Ensure that they are both brought to me alive. I'll do any **killing** that needs to be done.”  _

 

_ “Certainly, sir.”  _

 

_ “Is the warehouse completely prepared?”  _

 

_ “Yeah, boss.”  _

 

_ “And one more thing.”  _

 

_ “Yes, sir?”  _

 

_ “Get my gun and camera for me.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah hah~ I suppose you thought I was dead. I anticipated slow updates on my stories, I did not, however, anticipate bi-yearly updates. Holy hell, my last update was November 2017 and the one before that in June 2017. I do still have full intention to finish this story, as well as a few others (well, I actually have like 17 prompts that I thought up but only have less than a chapter on the majority of them). 
> 
> Thank you all so much for being patient with me, and I hope that you can forgive my rare appearances. Perhaps I gained a sudden motivation to be productive in order to not feel like shit for avoiding the hell out of my upcoming AP US History exam. Oof. 
> 
> I decided yet again that my chapters need to be longer, so there ya go.
> 
> Please leave any thoughts you have in the comments! I love reading your thoughtful, kind words ^ . ^ (and the criticism + suggestions too!)
> 
> If you would like to talk to me directly, I would love that as well! On ao3 is fine or my Instagrams (well, two of them) are @iiezaya and @thesamephotofshizuo. It’s about as dead there as here, but I do check them frequently. 
> 
> I will most likely create a fanfiction.net account, but them and Wattpad are not as high on my priority list because personally I prefer ao3. 
> 
> Thanks, hope you enjoyed~ <3
> 
> ALSO, WOW 750 HITS, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH


	7. Counterbalanced Commotion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I named another chapter after a Muse song (except this one is just a spinoff of a lyric from "Unnatural Selection") and I plan to do that for the rest too lol

Four men sat around a small table. Two of them, next to each other, yet as far away as possible at the same time, sat leering at one another. At the other side of the table, a pair identical to the first sat with content smiles and nearly no room in between them.

 

Lounging in a bar stool across from the table, their doctor friend seemed frustrated about his destroyed apartment, but also because he wasn’t quite sure how to deal with the problem at hand. 

 

After Izaya and Shizu-chan's squabble, they had updated Iza-chan on the situation, which brings us to our current situation.

 

“What’s the point of making your portal or whatever anyway?” Shizu-chan asked, hoping that maybe if his almost equally as annoying friend would run his mouth, the flea would be unable to say anything for a while. 

 

He sighed, and looked less lost in thought as a devious grin crept onto his face. 

 

“Well, you see, if I were to pioneer the interdimensional travel industry, I would not only be world-renowned as a doctor and genius, but I would also never have to work a day in my life because of the value of my invention.”

 

“Come on Shinra, while your other reasons apply, even a brute like Shizu-chan would know that inventing a portal to other dimensions wouldn’t get your doctoral ‘skills’ recognized. What’s your ulterior motive here?” Izaya asked. 

 

_ Didn’t work.  _ (Shizu-chan thought). 

 

“Do I have an ulterior reason? Perhaps. Is it impure, though? Definitely not!” Shinra replied. 

 

“No one said it was in the first place…” Shizuo noted. 

 

**[What’s the reason?]** Celty, who appeared from the other room for the first time during their visit, typed on her PDA. You could almost read the hesitance in her words. 

 

Izaya and Shizu-chan simultaneously took notice of the ring with a small black opal stone on Celty’s pale finger. Suddenly the black band on Shinra’s left ring finger made more sense. 

 

“Wait, wait, wait. Celty, you married this dweeb in this dimension?!” Shizu-chan said, vocalizing both his and Izaya’s thoughts. 

 

“Uwah~! Are me and my Celty not married in your dimension?!” Shinra desperately cried.

 

“No, you’re not, and if you’re anywhere near as much of a pervert as him, I don’t see how you are in this one to begin with.” Izaya remarked with a smirk. Shinra dejectedly sighed. 

 

“I suppose that answers my inquiry then.” He said looking more depressed than he should. 

 

**[What do you mean?]**

 

“That was my other reason for creating the portal: to find out if we would be unconditionally in love~” 

 

“You’re in luck. Our Shinra definitely has as much of a creepy obsession with Celty as you do.” Izaya said.

 

“Hello??? Why are we wasting time having this conversation? They need to get back to their dimension.” Shizuo interrupted impatiently.

 

“It seems that all versions of Shizu-chan have anger management problems, ne?” Izaya taunted. Shizuo and Shizu-chan both scowled at him. 

 

“You said you lost parts to the machine in transit, Shinra. What will it take to finish it?” Iza-chan asked, rolling his eyes at the other three bickering in the background. 

 

Shinra thought for a moment before speaking. “I’m not sure. As of right now, I’m missing a few power components and part of the frame. I could most likely activate it with supplies I have now, but without a strong enough powerhouse, it will act unpredictable and erratic. I don’t even think that I could manage to find where you guys came from without—” He paused. 

 

“That’s it! All I need to do is connect it to a power line or cell tower and get my hands on enriched uranium; however, there’s only one person I know that has it, and that’s...” He dramatically pushed up his glasses.

 

“My dad.” Shinra finished with a grimace.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“What do you mean you don’t have it?!” 

 

**. . .**

 

“Yes! We’ve been over this! I just need to power something.” 

 

**. . .**

 

“Me?  _ You’re _ definitely the shady one here.”

 

**. . .**

 

“Alright whatever! Goodbye.”

 

**. . .**

 

“...Yes, Dad, love you too.”

 

**. . .**

 

“No, Dad, please don’t come over tomorrow with Emilia.” 

 

**. . .**

 

“Okay, bye.”

 

Shinra walked out of the other room, where he had just spoken on the phone.

 

“Alright, new plan. My dad doesn’t have it anymore because he just sold the last of it to a client. He did say that there are two possible locations that an old friend of his would have some available to us. I say that we split into two teams and check both locations, then meet here.” 

 

“God, what is this, a cliché movie?” Shizuo said facetiously. 

 

“Well, I’ll be with Shizuo~” Iza-chan excitedly requested.

 

“Actually, it might be a better idea to not put longtime rivals together, especially considering that it’s you guys.” Shinra said. Shizu-chan nodded his head in agreement but Izaya seemed amused by the thought. 

 

“Alright, me and myself then?” Shizu-chan asked. 

 

“No, idiot, we can’t just show up with two copies of one person asking for dangerous elements.” Izaya scoffed. 

 

“It’s not like twins don’t exist!” Shizu-chan defended. 

 

“Let’s just have Izaya and Shizuo go, and me and Shizu-chan go.” Iza-chan suggested with finality. 

 

“Hell no, there is no way I’m walking around with Izaya, from another dimension or not.” Shizu-chan said and turned his back to walk away.

 

“What other option do you have? This is the only way you can go back and we can move on and pretend like none of this ever happened. You can go back to your lives and we can go back to ours.” Iza-chan frowned at the other’s back. 

 

“Yeah, and it’s not like we need some kind of buddy system. We aren’t five.” 

 

The door closed with a click as Shizu-chan exited the apartment. Iza-chan shook his head and followed after, waving a dismissive hand and telling Shinra to text him the address of who they were supposed to talk to. 

 

Izaya narrowed his eyes and shifted his glance to Shizuo.

 

“Let’s hope you’re as different from Shizu-chan as that guy is from me.” 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

**_Location: The Powerlines, Far, Far Away_ **

 

“We were really lucky that my dad hadn’t sold the last of the enriched uranium, right, Celty?” The dullahan made an unsure affirmative gesture.

 

**[What if the police come and find out that you have that stuff without a permit?]** She showed her boyfriend the screen, nearly trembling just thinking about the police. 

 

“It’ll be okay, Celty. I’m almost finished up here anyway.” Shinra smiled reassuringly and continued tinkering with his machine. The archway was connect to the line, thanks to Celty, and a panel on the side was open to reveal wires and canisters. Shinra was using tweezers to adjust them. After a couple minutes continuing on the same way, he spoke again.

 

“Alright, done! We should be able to open it up somewhere near here on the other side. It is stable enough for us to go through. Knowing them, they’ve either caused so much destruction it will be impossible not to find them, or they’ll be trying to return to their homes. Ooh! What if it’s a parallel dimension and they found themselves?! Or maybe—”

 

**[Just hurry up and open it.]**

 

Pouting, Shinra did as she said. They both carefully stepped through the arch and ended up in a nearly identical city, about 5 feet from where they had placed the portal on their end. 

 

Looking back at a faint outline of the rippling door they stepped through, Shinra exclaimed:

 

“I think we made it, Celty!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW AN UPDATE ONLY 2 MONTHS AFTER THE LAST 
> 
> AMAZING 
> 
> Sorry if the line spacing seems weird, I try to keep the lines in paragraphs and it looks a lot better on mobile than on a laptop/ larger screen.
> 
> Thank you all for supporting this story!
> 
> Please let me know what you think c; All comments are appreciated~ <3


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